Film Reviews

NEWTON

A young, idealistic protagonist, a greedy, corrupt system……..he refuses to accept defeat, the system won’t let him win…….he finally gives in....

Yawn….so what’s new? Maybe nothing at all. However, this done-to-death plot is made watchable by the presence of some seriously talented actors. Other than that, “Newton” has no “substance”, for the lack of a better word.

Rajkummar Rao, plays the title role with aplomb – as the rookie eager beaver electoral officer, determined to do what is expected of him at all costs, he excels. Ably supported by veterans like Raghubir Yadav and Pankaj Trivedi, it would be fair to say that the film’s saving grace is it’s cast – they effortlessly carry the film through on their shoulders.

The film opens with an electoral candidate being bumped off by assailants, presumably Maoists, somewhere in a forest. We are told there is a wealth of minerals and natural resources present in and around the same area.

Nutan Kumar aka Newton Kumar, accepts a polling officer’s post where no one else wants to go – election duty somewhere deep in the jungles of Chhattisgarh. There is the threat of Maoists, who’ve warned the villagers (all 74 of them) against casting their vote. The frustrated Commandant (Pankaj Trivedi is superb) of the security outpost thinks the elections are a waste of time, tries to thwart Newton’s attempts to conduct a free and fair election by telling him to stay put and he will “have the polling done”. Refusing to take “No” for an answer, Newton and his team march into the jungle, accompanied the reluctant Commandant and his security forces. Though dissuaded at every step of the way by the Commandant, Newton tries to go by the book. They set up the polling station at a desolate looking, abandoned village, and begin their long wait for the voters to show up. However, just as nothing seems forthcoming, a call from the local police chief galvanizes the security forces into action. A foreign news correspondent is on her way, and Indian democracy, of which the polling process is an important cog in the wheel, must be showcased. The villagers are hounded out to the polling station. Newton, in all earnestness, explains the importance of the ballot to the villagers. What follows is a farcical look at the election process – the forest dwellers have little or no idea about the voting process, much less the electronic voting machines. Their only queries are about “who will pay us a good price for tendu leaves?” “how much money will get for our vote?”. Very effective use of dark humour here – enough to make the thinking viewer shift uncomfortably in his/ her seat – true reflection of grim reality. Maybe that’s why the film was classified under the “Comedy” genre….

The foreign correspondent gets her story, goes back happy. Newton and his team wait for the rest of the voters, when suddenly, shots ring out and the Commandant issues orders to the electoral team to pack up and leave with an armed escort. On his way back, they encounter four villagers who claim they’ve come to cast their vote and Newton smells a rat. He grabs a gun, threatens the security team and ensures the villagers cast their vote. A stickler for rules, he also waits till 3pm to declare the election process closed. The security men in turn, vent their ire on him and fisticuffs follow. Turns out the shooting was stage managed by the Commandant to close out the polling.

The next thing we see is Newton at a desk job, with his neck in a brace and then visuals of mining and earthmovers at work. The conclusion? Not much left to imagination, really….the protagonist, intimidated by an inept, corrupt system, quietly accepts defeat and the inevitable exploitation of Mother Earth by unscrupulous politicians continues unabated…

Ok….so….a somewhat defeatist and a not so happy ending……..and maybe the film would be better titled “A Day in the Life of Newton Kumar” because that is what it is….

But “Newton”, such as it is, is not totally undeserving of accolades. The actors do a fine job of their assigned roles – Rajkummar Rao has arrived in the world of offbeat cinema. Mercifully, he isn’t aspiring to the stereotypical hero roles and knows where his strengths lie. Raghubir Yadav lives upto expectations, the supporting cast is adequate, the forest dwellers look authentic……kudos to director Amit Masurkar for that! Also, the film boasts of a strong narrative – at no point does the pace slacken, the viewer is kept guessing about what happens next and thankfully, the film doesn’t drag on endlessly for hours.

If the film set out to make a definitive statement on the Indian electoral process or lack of it, it falls flat on that count. What’s refreshing is the honest attempt at using dark humour, somewhat on the lines of “Jaane bhi do Yaaron”…..

Not a film that everyone will find watchable, though…..

LA LA LAND

And the Oscar goes to……La La Land! And the Oscar goes to……La La Land! And the Oscar goes to……La La Land!

Films in the genre of “musical” are few and far in between these days but did “La La Land” really merit six Academy Awards is the question. The film has great songs, great music, so no surprise really that it picked up Awards for those and other technical categories but Best Actress? Best Director? Emma Stone’s name will now be mentioned in the same breath as Meryl Streep and Shirley MacClaine? And Damien Chazelle will take his place among Spielberg, Bertolucci, Coppola?? We must be running out of choices….

Alright, so that was unkind…let’s do an apples to apples comparison…take that delightful 2002 musical “Chicago” for instance – same genre, right? Think Catherine Zeta Jones’s portrayal of the spunky Velma Kelly – now that was Oscar material…

Ok, that was unkind too, so let’s not even compare La La Land to another film.

The story goes thus – set in Hollywood, Los Angeles (where else?) a struggling actress, Mia (Emma Stone) who works as a barista meets an aspiring jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) by chance. She is drawn to his music and he barely acknowledges her presence. They meet again and despite a strong undercurrent of attraction, they remain in denial.

Mia is doing the rounds of casting agents, is increasingly frustrated by one unsuccessful audition after another. Sebastian is a purist; he refuses to play what’s demanded of him and ends up getting fired often.  He nurses ambitions of owning his own jazz bar some day.

A few more meetings and a couple of songs later, these two kindred souls are, of course, in love. They move in together, Sebastian tells Mia to stop auditioning and write. She works on a one woman play, while he takes up an offer to play with a band, despite his misgivings about their style of music. The band is successful and even though Mia accuses him of having given upon his dreams, Sebastian continues playing with them.

Mia’s play opens to a near empty house.  Sebastian doesn’t show up because of a prior commitment, Mia raves and rants about how she isn’t cut out for acting and goes back to her home in Boulder City. As things turn out, a casting agent who was in the audience is impressed with Mia and wants her to audition. Sebastian, the bearer of this good news, drives all the way to Boulder City, convinces her to come and audition. She’s selected for the role and voila! she’s on her way to becoming an actress! You’d be forgiven for thinking all’s well that ends well but no. In a last ditch attempt to introduce a twist into this otherwise hackneyed, run of the mill story, the director (yes, the same guy who won “Best Director”) seems to have a brainwave. He must’ve decided that a “happily ever after” ending may not exactly send the audience into raptures. So, fast forward to five years later….. Mia is a now successful actress, married, and has a daughter. Her husband takes her out one evening to a jazz club, which she discovers is owned by, who else but Sebastian! All so predictable! They cant take their eyes off each other while he plays the same music that he did when they first met. Lots of what-might’ve-been scenes later, Mia leaves the club with her husband, not before stopping to smile at Sebastian.

Well, I’d be surprised if that sent the audiences into raptures but yes, it might have them scratching their heads about why Mia and Sebastian split up. Some things are best left to imagination.

The lead pair is quite well suited romantically – they’re young and look like they are recklessly in love. Ryan Gosling is not bad, dances well. Emma Stone tries her best to emote with goggle eyes and a cutesy lisp, doesn’t quite make the cut though.

There is so much fluff that you can’t even empathize with the lead characters – they are after all, representative of all the wannabes who come to Hollywood everyday, with their dreams in tow, hoping to make it.

At best, “La La Land” is, what it set out to be – a breezy little, candy floss musical.

And of the Oscars? The lesser said, the better…..to think that at one point of time, they were awarded to films like “Schindler’s List” and “The English Patient”….

RAEES

There are films which have immortalized actors essaying the title role.

Unfortunately for Shah Rukh Khan, his “Devdas” couldn’t hold a candle to the great thespian Dilip Kumar’s portrayal of that character and “Raees”, too, may well occupy the bottom rung of his oeuvre!

A powerful subject, a storyline with immense potential and a superstar do not necessarily make a great film. “Raees” is a throwback to the “angry young man” films of yore, where the hero must single handed, beat up a slew of villains to pulp and emerge unscathed. Some of the fight sequences are downright gory – where Raees takes on the baddies in a slaughter house and uses a goat’s dismembered head to sock one of them in the jaw!

Set somewhere in Gujarat during the 1980s when prohibition was in full force, Raees (Shah Rukh Khan) grows up in the thick of the illegal bootlegging business. He starts out by smuggling hooch for Jairaj Seth (Atul Kulkarni) in his school satchel. Driven by ambition and his own set of somewhat warped principles, Raees rises to become a kind of Robin Hood – he runs his own liquor business, has the cops and politicians on the take and fights for the underdog - till he meets his nemesis – police officer Majmudar (Nawazuddin Siddique), who makes it his life’s mission to see the end of Raees. The usual intervention by politicians follows, and Majmudar is served transfer orders but he keeps coming back like a bad penny, undeterred in his mission.

When Raees’s dream project of building houses for the poor meets with an unexpected obstacle, he is morally obligated to return the money taken as advance from people. In order to so, he agrees to smuggle gold for Moosa Bhai (Narendra Jha) in Mumbai. He unwittingly smuggles RDX with the gold and the very same RDX is used to trigger blasts in North India, killing innocent people. Raees is shattered on learning he has unknowingly aided the smuggling of explosives into the country. He finishes off Moosa Bhai and decides to turn himself in – remember the eager beaver cop Majmudar is still waiting around the corner? And predictably, Majmudar finishes him off in a staged encounter.

Oh…and somewhere in the film, Raees romances and marries Aasiya (Mahirah Khan – as wooden as they come), contests and wins the state election while in jail – this bit is conveniently brushed aside, Raees’ s politician avatar is left to the audience’s imagination – he is shown merrily attending to his liquor business, surely an elected representative of the people has some duties to the state? Another glaring loophole – Raees is diagnosed with myopia during his childhood and is shown wearing spectacles through the film. Yet, he manages to spot a sniper on a roof, several yards away, from the ground, while taking a part in a Muharram procession with no glasses on!!

There might be one reason to watch Raees though – if you are a die hard SRK fan and nothing can shake your faith, watch it for him – Shah Rukh Khan has never looked better. It’s obvious he’s worked hard on his body – all too evident in the bare torso Muharram procession scene – rippling muscles, six pack and all that. With his surma lined, smoldering eyes and beard, he is pure testosterone! Full marks to whoever did his wardrobe for the film, he carries off the Pathan suits to a T.

As an actor matures in age, his body of work ought to evolve, there has to be that one role in his repertoire that merits the description “unforgettable” or “iconic”. Sadly, Raees regresses to making an angry young man out of SRK, nothing more.

I thought we were done with such films….

KAHAANI 2 – DURGA RANI SINGH

Points to bear in mind before you watch “Kahaani 2 – Durga Rani Singh” – It is not a sequel to “Kahaani” (Ho hum…..we know that already, don’t we?), do not carry expectations over from “Kahaani” to “Kahaani 2..” (you might be disappointed) AND you would be forgiven if you feel like getting up and giving Vidya Balan a standing ovation during the film (notwithstanding the fact that you stood to attention when the national anthem played before the movie began). But, sorry about digressing, more on Vidya Balan later…..

In the sleepy town of Chandan Nagar somewhere in West Bengal, lives Vidya Sinha (VB), a single mother with her wheel chair bound daughter, Minnie. Vidya’s sole mission in life is to save enough to be able to take Minnie to the USA for treatment on the hope that a surgery might help her walk again. Mother and daughter live in their own little world, which revolves around each other and Vidya works diligently towards scrimping and saving money, until one fine day, Minnie disappears, and Vidya receives a ransom message on her phone. As she is on her way to meet the kidnapper, Vidya is knocked down unconscious by an oncoming car. From here on, a slew of characters start to pop in, one after another. As Vidya lies in a coma, the cop in charge of the accident case Inderjit Singh (Arjun Rampal) recognizes her – only thing is, she’s not Vidya Sinha but Durga Rani Singh, wanted on counts of kidnapping and murder.  From here on, the plot thickens and slowly starts to unwind – who is Durga Rani Singh, why is she now Vidya Sinha, is she really a murderer, etc, etc….

“Kahaani 2” takes off well, shows promise. But however, what begins as an edge- of- the- seat, nail biting thriller, somehow doesn’t sustain after the intermission. The first half is as engrossing as it can be, just when you start to sympathize with Vidya, the double identity question is introduced and you start to wonder….the second half though, just doesn’t hold it all together. There is, for instance, the angle of Durga Rani Singh and Inderjit Singh having been man and wife at some point in the distant past – absolutely unnecessary and doesn’t serve any purpose in the story.

In what might perhaps be a path breaker, “Kahaani 2” also speaks out aloud about the very disturbing issue of child sexual abuse - how the predator is often a family member, the extent to which the family would go to hush things up. The scene where Vidya attempts to get Minnie talking about “unwanted touch” gave me goose bumps!

There are a few common elements between “Kahaani” and “Kahaani 2”(not unexpected , given it’s the same director). Carried over from it’s predecessor, there is a bumbling senior cop and a good hearted, sympathetic junior cop in the picture.  If we had a cold blooded, harmless looking assassin in “Kahaani’, we have an equally cold blooded, corrupt, blade wielding cop in “Kahaani 2”. If Vidya Balan delivered a power packed performance in “Kahaani”, she packs a bigger punch in “Kahaani 2” – she is quite simply, outstanding. Going by the norms defined for today’s heroines, she is at least 25 pounds overweight and in a completely deglamourized avatar but boy, is she the thinking man’s actress or what!  She proves, beyond all doubt, that she is completely capable of carrying the entire film on her shoulders. The rest of the cast is, at best, adequate – Arjun Rampal, just goes through the motions, Jugal Hansraj (a far cry from his “Masoom” days!) looks sinister enough as the predator-uncle.

All in all, “Kahaani 2” is an example of a gripping, taut thriller whose pace suddenly slackens for no apparent reason and sadly, loses its way….and if the inevitable comparisons must be drawn, “Kahaani”, with it’s unexpected twist at the end comes out a winner, no such saving grace for “Kahaani 2”, I’m afraid….

AE DIL HAIN MUSHKIL

Really….what was Karan Johar thinking of? Or maybe he wasn’t thinking at all….

Mush like “Kuch kuch hota hain”? Watchable….A tear jerker like “Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham” ? Ok, still bearable…. A “Kabhi Alvida na Kehna”? Honest, at least, considering a subject like infidelity …but  “Ae Dil Hain Mushkil..” ? Come on, Mr. Johar…..maybe you could use a vacation….

So, we have the free spirited Alizeh Khan (Anushka Sharma) who runs into aspiring singer & poor little rich boy Ayan Sanger at a disco in London. They try to make out – unsuccessfully though, as it turns out poor little rich boy cant even kiss properly, and so, Ms. Free Spirit decides he must be taken in hand and taught some of life’s lessons. She tells him his singing sucks and has no feeling or depth or whatever. She also confides that she’s been nursing a broken heart as she was once in love with a DJ - Ali.

Ayan’s in a live in relationship with Lisa (Lisa Haydon) and Alizeh’s now engaged to Dr. Faisal. All that notwithstanding, the four hang out together, double date and so on, till Dr. Faisal gets completely enamored by Lisa and the two are caught in the act. Alizeh and Ayan  find themselves single again. The two take off for France on a holiday and yes, the relationship is strictly platonic as the holiday is meant to recover (?) from the trauma of losing their respective partners. DJ Ali suddenly appears out of the blue and all of a sudden, the oh-so-sure of herself Alizeh’s all in a tizzy – she can’t think straight. The next thing we know she’s in Lucknow, preparing to marry DJ Ali. Our poor little rich boy is ofcourse, invited to the wedding and Presto! It dawns on him that Alizeh is the woman of his dreams and he cant sit by and watch her marry DJ Ali, and so he must leave…

However, he wastes no time whatsoever as he runs into Saba (Aishwarya Rai) – she is older, as beautiful as they come and is, ahem, an Urdu poetess residing in Vienna! Ayan follows her to Vienna and before you know it, they start living in. Alizeh, in the meanwhile is tailing hubby DJ Ali on all his gigs. Ayan and Alizeh stay in touch and Ayan makes juvenile, almost comical attempts at trying to make her jealous by sending her pics of his current gorgeous girlfriend! Oh yes, somewhere in between all this, lest we, the audience, forget his singing aspirations, he also starts belting out Sufi numbers on the streets of Vienna and instant stardom follows! Just when everything seems hunky dory, Ms. Rai chucks him out, quite unceremoniously one night (yes, thanks to Alizeh). Our poor little rich boy, now with two heart breaks, is again at a loose end. Fast forward to a couple of years - Ayan runs into DJ Ali– who reveals that Alizeh and he are divorced. Predictably, Ayan wastes no time in trying to chase down Alizeh in London and she, ofcourse, just shows up. Just when you heave a sigh of relief that the movie is about to end, the director has the last laugh. The film drags for another 30-40 minutes – you see, Alizeh is stricken with cancer and has few months to go and so, our hero weeps buckets and tries to make the best of it by just being with her. Ofcourse, again all strictly platonic as she confesses that she can never feel “woh  waala pyaar” for him. Alizeh passes on and Ayan is supposed to have made it big in the music world – the film opens with him being interviewed and closes on the same note.

It’s hard to put down what the film lacks – just too many things to list. It’s tedious, meanders all over the place without purpose. Depth? None whatsoever…all the characters are completely devoid of it and I don’t mean the free spiritedness- bordering-on-promiscuity attitude that the current generation is shown to have. Even that doesn’t quite come across convincingly…..yes, it’s refreshing that there is no moralizing at least (thank god for small mercies!). As expected, all the characters have plenty of money and have nothing better to do than dress in designer togs and have a good time! And if you think this review is long winded or protracted, wait till you see the film……

PINK

So, the age old questions again – if a woman in a short dress accepts a drink from a man she has met for the first time, can it be construed that she wants to sleep with him? When she says “No”, is it a given that she means “Yes” and gives the man the right to violate her?  Naturally, if women want to stay safe, then they must dress appropriately and behave decently, you can’t blame the man for taking liberties with her, can you? Why do such women “go looking for trouble” anyway, shouldn’t they just stay home on a weekend?

Sadly, a majority of average Indians are very likely to answer “Yes” to the above questions. Of course, men will be men.  It’s a man’s world after all. Why, isn’t that exactly what we tell our daughters too?

“Pink” is a brave, sincere attempt at finding the answers to these uncomfortable questions.

Set in present times, the lives of three independent working girls (Meenal, Falak and Andrea) are thrown into a tizzy, after one of them, Meenal,  in self defense, smashes a bottle on the head of her would-be rapist, causing him serious injury. As luck would have it, he turns out to be the nephew of a local politician. What follows is anybody’s guess- the girls are in turn, stalked, threatened, abducted and molested. Systematic character assassination follows, causing one of them to lose her job. Trying to file a police report only worsens things – the girls are dissuaded by the keepers of the law at first and are told to make peace with perpetrators.  Throw in a corrupt cop, a couple of “eye witnesses” who can be bought off and Meenal finds herself in jail, arrested for solicitation and attempt to murder.

Enter Deepak Sehgal, the neighbor and good Samaritan lawyer who is jerked out of his stupor and self inflicted retirement on seeing the turmoil created in the girls’ lives. He volunteers to be their defense counsel and after a long and dramatic trial, the baddies get their just desserts and the girls go free.

What the movie perhaps lacks is “punch” but it makes up in terms of acting. Kirti Kulhari and Andrea as Falak and Andrea are both good but Taapsee Pannu impresses as Meenal. She is gutsy, willing to put up a fight but as the system begins to get the better of her, she is traumatized and on the verge of defeat. AB as Deepak Sehgal literally, “does justice” to the role – he is like a spectre in most of the first half, appearing when least expected, almost creeps the girls out at times. He sits hunched up in court, gives the impression of being lost in thought, has to be prompted for answers at times. In a departure from his signature baritone, he mouths his dialogues in a raspy tone, some of which is difficult to catch.

The court scenes are tense, dramatic without being over the top, in a way, reminiscent of the scenes in the 1991 film “The Accused”. Hard hitting and frightening real, they gave me goose bumps at times.  Here, Taapsee excels – she very convincingly portrays a whole gamut of emotions - she is outraged, angry, defiant, even vulnerable. It’s a shockingly real picture of how our judiciary functions, of how a woman’s character is defined by the whether or not she has a drink, by the way she smiles and talks with the opposite sex, by her dress etc. Apparently, the film has also made an impact in creating awareness about legal rights such as a “Zero FIR” wherein an FIR can be filed in any police station, irrespective of whether the crime comes under that police station’s jurisdiction or not. Also, that a bail plea for a woman can be heard at a judges residence when courts are closed for the weekend. Kudos to the director’s social conscience. Worth a watch – it’s not easy to make a film that raises questions and takes an objective view. All this without being moralizing. And yes, no idea what the title was meant to signify.

UDTHA PUNJAB

Wonder what all that brouhaha that the Censor Board kicked up was about? “Udta Punjab” is grim, hard hitting and reflective of reality….substance abuse is a serious problem today, so what was the Censor Board trying to keep under wraps?

Yes, the language is abusive. Yes, there are explicit scenes of youngsters “shooting up”. But Udta Punjab does not sermonise; it’s a wholehearted, honest attempt at – (1) shedding light on problem of drug abuse and (2) unravelling the whole demand & supply trail.

A slew of characters come together in the film– there is Tommy Singh, the “Gabru” – a washed out pop singer, whose career is on the verge of collapse. Shahid Kapoor is brilliant as Tommy - he is manic and has the overall crazed appearance of a cocaine junkie.  An idealistic doctor who works in drug rehab (Kareena Kapoor is efficient & looks lovely, despite no make up and simple outfits), a cop who’s on the take (Diljit Dosanjh- very impressive indeed) and has a change of heart when he discovers  his younger brother is an addict  and the surprise package of the film – Alia Bhatt! All Alia bashers (including self) can eat their words!  As the gutsy Bihari farmhand, she, literally, packs a punch – when her naïve attempt at trying to make some cash from selling a heroin packet that she stumbles upon by chance goes horribly wrong, she fights back, refuses to give into her tormentors, doesn’t shy away from revealing the gory details of how she was raped to Tommy (the scene where these two meet accidentally, is wonderfully picturized – a meeting between two strangers turns cathartic and they almost develop empathy for each other).

The doctor and the cop begin an investigation (predictably, a cutesy romance begins to blossom between the two) and the usual politician – cops- drug peddler nexus is revealed. They are on the verge of making public a whole lot of incriminating evidence when a tragic, freak incident claims the doctor’s life. The powers that be and the drug mafia capture the cop and the evidence. The cop then dispenses his own brand of vigilante justice and the climax has lots of guns firing, bodies dropping like flies. Tommy Singh proves there is some good in him after all, by rescuing Alia and the kingpin – an aspiring politician is brought to book.

No “...and they lived happily ever after....” ending here, Udta Punjab takes a long, hard look at the horrific problem of drug abuse, at the very real problem of drug trafficking across the country’s borders. With dialogues in more Punjabi than Hindi, the subtitles are a help. The actors are tailor made for their roles, not one is a let down. It’s stark, it shakes you up, gives you some insight into the magnitude of the drug problem. Definitely worth a watch.

CHALK AND DUSTER

A novel theme, a promising start and just when you begin to think it’s too good to be true, Chalk n Duster falters, loses it’s way and stumbles to the finish. But yes, full marks to the producers and the director for attempting to tackle a subject like the education system and it’s present day ills.

So we have Kanthaben High School where everything is near perfect – dedicated teachers, happy students and a school principal who is loved by all. The only blot on this idyllic landscape is the school supervisor (a garishly painted Divya Dutta) and her side kick – they are uniformly detested by the staff for their highhandedness but are somehow kept in check by the principal.

Enter the foreign educated son of the school board’s chairman. Sonny boy has big plans for the school, and unashamedly declares education is the best business. All perfectly in synch with the school supervisor’s evil designs – together they plot and conspire and the next thing you know is, school supervisor has usurped the principal’s chair, hiked the schools fees and is hell bent on making the staff’s lives miserable. But sonny boy and evil supervisor-turned-principal get a little more than what they bargained for when they take on the duo of the dedicated math teacher, Vidya Sawant, who is fired for her unorthodox teaching methods (the ever versatile Shabana Azmi) and the bubbly science teacher Jyothi Thakur(played by a beautifully aging Juhi Chawla).

Vidya suffers a heart attack and is hospitalized. The chairman of a rival school’s board leaks the news to the media and the story gets splashed everywhere, thanks to the feisty reporter in charge(Richa Chadda). A fervent appeal on TV by Jyothi about “Dronacharya needing his Arjun” evokes strong passion in the student community and all of Vidya’s ex students rally around. Predictably, Vidya comes through an angioplasty and the hospital bills are waived off.

All good so far, the movie chugs along pretty well till an unbelievable turn of events….a KBC-type quiz game is set up to decide the fate of the Vidya- Jyothi duo! The grand prize is Rs. 5 crores, an apology from the management and re-instatement, if the duo get all the answers right or else the duo will never get to work as teachers again. Really?? How puerile can one get! The audience so loves a happy ending, and hence what follows is anyone’s guess!

Except for this rather juvenile twist, the movie would’ve been a must watch – the lead actors do their job with aplomb, the character actors like the art & craft teacher (Upasna Singh -delightful) are competent enough. Let’s give the director his due though – better handling of the second half would’ve been desirable but the movie is definitely worth a watch - lump-in-throat & memories of your favourite teacher guaranteed !

WAZIR

“Wazir” can best be described as an opportunity lost. An interesting story line done in by a haphazard narrative and poor direction.

After having avenged the death of his daughter, our hero Danish Ali (Farhan Akhtar), who is estranged from his wife and on the brink of suicide, is saved by an individual Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh Bacchhan), who appears mysteriously out of nowhere.

The protagonist then unwittingly becomes a pawn in the hands of the Baadshah (Dhar aka Panditji), who befriends him, lends him a shoulder to cry on, attempts a reconciliation with the wife etc. He plays right into Panditji’s hands when the truth pops up suddenly one day – that Panditji too, like himself, is seeking revenge for his only daughter’s tragic and unexplained death. The baddie in question is Qureshi- a terrorist of Kashmir origin masquerading as a politician turned Union Minister. Panditji, being a double amputee and wheelchair bound, has his limitations and so turns to Danish, who makes a few laughably amateurish attempts at digging out the truth.

Predictably, the big shot politician who must save himself and his career, will leave no stone unturned. So, wham! - emerges “Wazir”(played by a sadistic looking Neil Nitin Mukesh), sent to silence the Baadshah. It’s curtains for Panditji and Danish, by now, having lost all clarity of thought except to find the shadowy Wazir and avenge Panditji’s death (making, yes, right, three attempts at revenge, in all), sets out to find Qureshi in Kashmir. Guns blaze away and a few action packed scenes later, Qureshi  is put down by Danish, despite his protestations that he doesn’t know any Wazir. But yes, Qureshi did murder Panditji’s daughter so Danish is justified in killing Qureshi anyway. And Wazir? Wazir who..??

Somewhere in the background, parallels are continually drawn with the game of chess and about how we are all pawns in God’s scheme of things etc.The truth dawns on Danish and he realizes he’s been checkmated. Of course, there’s nothing to be done now but reconcile with the wife (Aditi Rao Hydari, who stares wide eyed mostly and looks ethereally lovely).

“Wazir” is like a Snow Globe – once shaken, all the snowflakes are expected to settle by themselves, with no semblance of order. What could have potentially been a taut, engrossing film is killed by inept handling . Two talented actors wasted though AB is himself, efficient as always, Farhan Akhtar is wooden at times.

The genre says “Thriller”….. “Thriller”?? Don’t think so….. Michael Jackson did better in his time….

MASAAN

“A picture is worth a thousand words” – when they said “picture”, did they mean “movie”, I wonder…

Because that’s what “Masaan” embodies….a simple tale beautifully woven with no histrionics, set against the backdrop of Benaras.

Two stories, disconnected from each other, run parallel – A girl whose life takes a bizarre turn by a strange twist of fate, a pair of young lovers whose plans of a future together are abruptly nipped in the bud by a tragic accident. Quiet flows the holy Ganga, mute witness to the gamut of emotions that the two protagonists go through. Ultimately, it is the Ganga which brings these two strangers together, just when they seeking to rebuild their individual lives and move on.

 Poignant in parts, hard hitting and raw in others, “Masaan” revives your faith in the fine craft of story telling – perhaps it isn’t dead after all. Director Neeraj Ghaywan has done an exemplary job of telling it like it is, he appears to have also pulled off a casting coup of sorts – every actor is tailor made for the role. Sanjay Mishra is simply outstanding as the angst ridden father, Richa Chadda is quietly brilliant – fine piece of restrained acting as the girl struggling against all odds to get her life back on track, but displays strength of character.

A must watch for all those who appreciate “good” cinema, devoid of the present day embellishments of opulent sets, elaborate song and dance sequences and theatrics. Sad that it didn't garner enough appreciation in India but won rave reviews at film festivals abroad….

SHAANDAAR

There are simply no words to describe this excuse for a film – perhaps plain dumb would be close enough. Throw in a slew of characters, completely disconnected sequences, some songs, exotic locations, spare no expense with the sets and you have “Shaandaar”.

The story (if one can call it that) goes thus- a business family where the eldest son (Pankaj Kapoor) has a dark secret – the adopted daughter he’s been raising, alongside their biological one, is, in fact his own. The family is on the verge of bankruptcy & it’s kept under wraps. The matriarch (Sushma Sheth, hideous and loosely inspired by Cruella DeVille of 101 Dalmations) decides to forge a marriage alliance with the Fundwanis  in an effort to revive the family fortunes. The obese elder daughter is to be married off the Fundwani junior , who is solely obsessed with his 8 and a half abs pack. What’s not known is that Fundwanis are bankrupt themselves & Fundwani Senior (Sanjay Kapoor, who must be having a mid life crisis, to have done, possibly, the worst role of his lifetime)is hoping to boost his sagging fortune too.

Destination wedding at a castle somewhere in England and enter the wedding planner (Shahid Kapoor), who falls hook, line and sinker for the adopted younger daughter (Alia Bhatt) – she is spunky, an insomniac, swims in the nude at night and whoops for joy on finding out she’s illegitimate and not adopted. Somewhere along the line, the wedding planner cures her insomnia, both the parties find out  about the state of  each other’s finances, the matriarch dies a freak death and fat bride decides she’d rather be fat and happy than fat and unhappy. Wedding called off, the matriarch is given a most undignified farewell where her wheelchair catches fire (with her in it) and the nice guys fly away in a plane.

Ruled by crass humour, a plethora of characters who don’t know why they are there and loud over-the-top acting, it’s hard to be believe this is the same film maker who gave us “Queen”. Boy! What a come down! We all have our moments, I suppose. Pity that the powerhouse father-son combo of Pankaj-Shahid Kapoor is so totally wasted on a film like this!

TALVAAR

Based on the real life Aarushi Talwar murder case of 2008, full marks to Meghna Gulzar for making an honest attempt at unraveling the truth, with being overtly melodramatic.

A pretty, young girl and the family’s man servant are found murdered. The subsequent mishandling of the case by the local constabulary – portrayed as absolute buffoons, gloriously inept –where the crime scene isn’t even cordoned off, ensures all crucial first hand evidence is compromised. No forensic investigation is conducted on the girl’s body, thanks to the bumbling, paan-chewing Inspector in charge, who even dismisses the blood found on the terrace door as colour! Without a shred of evidence and no vital clues, the cops, in a hurry to conclude, throw up wild conjectures of “honour killing”, Aarushi’s “promiscuity”, tales of “wife swapping” etc and the parents are hurriedly arrested for the murder.

Enter CBI (CDI, in the film). The officer -in-charge (Irrfan Khan, in his usual precision driven performance mould ) is somehow not convinced of the parents’ guilt, digs for the truth, pulls up the police inspector in charge for contaminating the crime scene and finally presents his case – the family’s man servant’s  cronies were guilty of both murders.  A change of guard within the CBI ensures Irrfan Khan is taken off the case, over allegations of “coerced confessions”. A new officer is assigned and Presto! the old honour- killing – parents- guilt story surfaces again. With the two theories being poles apart and the crucial first hand evidence however, having been destroyed; the case is closed for lack of conclusive evidence. The courts and the victim’s father both refuse to accept the case as closed and in a bizarre twist of fate, the parents are convicted.

“Talvar” is not a “whodunit”, rather it highlights the huge gaping holes in the investigation process, the apathy of the cops and how, thanks to the press, the case became the most talked about murder case of 2008. In parts, it leans towards sympathy for the parents and yes, it is difficult not to empathize with Konkona Sen Sharma’s restrained portrayal of the grieving mother, wracked by anguish.

Did the powers-that-be, to safeguard their own image, hurriedly foist the murder charge on the parents? What about the initial investigation that was botched up by the worst possible handling of crime scene? Would a normal teenage daughter of upwardly mobile parents indulge in an affair with a middle aged man servant just to get back at her parents? These are the disturbing, unanswered questions that “Talvar” raises, besides touching on the chilling possibility that the killer may still be at large. Maybe till justice is served in the Aarushi murder case, “Talvar” will continue to dangle like the proverbial “Sword of Damocles” over our heads.

Worth a watch, this one.

DILDHADAKNE DO

Zoya Akhtar makes a valiant attempt to strip the veneer off the lives of the well heeled. So, we have the Mehras, who, despite everything, must keep up appearances. A cruise to "celebrate" their 30th wedding anniversary is organised. Throw in an assortment of relatives, high society friends who cant stand the sight of each other, tell the story through the eyes of the family pet and viola! lots of dil dhadakna happens!!

The head of the dysfunctional Mehra family (Anil Kapoor, who can still make the dil go dhadak), is hoping to revive his sagging fortunes by getting his son married off to the Sood family heiress. He pops anti anxiety pills, works out and has a roving eye. Shefali Shah (good, measured acting by her) as his wife, miserable but wears the mask, nevertheless & looks like she's about to have a nervous breakdown. Their talented daughter, Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra), who's stuck in a crumbling marriage and the wimpy son (Ranveer Singh) who hasn't the gall to stand up to his dad but loses his heart, oh, so predictably, to the ship's cabaret artiste (Anushka). More hearts are set aflutter when Ayesha's former lover (Farhan Akhtar) makes an unexpected appearance.

The senior Mehra has an attack of indigestion/ flatulence, mistaken for a heart attack, causing the family some anxious moments (yes, more dil dhadakna). Facts are laid bare, everyone comes clean, yelling and accusations follow. Daughter Ayesha decides to get divorced and sonny boy tells daddy dearest about his complete lack of interest in the family business. Son-in-law (Rahul Bose) & his hypochondriac mom are told to disembark.

The whole family (dog included) stands behind sonny boy in his  quest for the cabaret dancer, who's been fired from the job and has been told to get off the ship. Mom-son, dad-daughter all hug each other and presto! we are family,a la Karan Johar!

Beautiful locales in Turkey and the ocean are captured in the film. What's refreshing is the total lack of histrionics & over the top acting, even in the melodramatic scenes. But for all the dil dhadakna, the film somehow doesn't tug at the heart strings. Take a dekko, if you want to be nice to Zoya Akhtar.....

I, for one, am going to watch my mouth and actions before my dog hereafter .....

PIKU

Utterly delightful!! Lively performance by Ms. Padukone as the spirited, independent, dutiful to the point of seeming vulnerable at times Piku, balanced by Irfan Khan's measured acting. Lovely little cameo by Mousumi Chatterjee but the crowning glory is the one & only AB as the cantankerous, demanding, hypochondriac father. Only he could've pulled it off - with his perfect Bengali accented English dialogue delivery, he proves yet again why he is one of the greatest actors India's ever produced. Shit happens - inevitable that,but only Shoojit Sircar perhaps could make a film centred around an individual's bowel movements without being gross......